By the time they entered the studio to begin working on their second album, 1974's
Paper Money
, the wheels were already starting to come off the supercharged
Montrose
wagon. Though they involved virtually the same cast of characters responsible for the band's groundbreaking
LP (including producer
Ted Templeman
and engineer
Donn Landee
), the sessions for
were often marred by the fast-deteriorating relationship between guitar hero
Ronnie Montrose
and his very talented lead singer,
Sammy Hagar
. The resulting creative tug of war made for a schizophrenic, unfocused set, where powerful rockers like the title track, the heavy riffing "I Got the Fire" and the ripping instrumental "Starliner" stand out from the mostly lackluster, surrounding material, most of which falls significantly short of matching the first album's incredible energy.
"Spaceage Sacrifice"
is little more than a poor cousin to the debut's barnburning monster single,
"Space Station No. 5,"
and "We're Going Home" was weak enough that
Hagar
reportedly refused to sing it, allowing
Ronnie
do the honors. In short, it didn't take a psychic to read the signs here:
would soon say his official "adios" and
would never be the same again. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia